Welcome to Our Favourite Products, a monthly feature of the products keeping our skin glowing, mood lifted and health high. It's a combination of the new things we've tried over the previous month and historic repeat purchases that we think you might love too. And as part of our editorial policy, every product we write about is vegan, cruelty-free and 100% natural and where possible organic. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of incorporating clean beauty and wellness products into your daily routine — or even finding them, we hope you find the following helpful. And as a reminder, a constant favourite of mine — clean filtered water. Drink it frequently, daily. Here's what I'm loving this month:
Essano Keratin Complex Smoothing Conditioner
Since I went through all the conditioners from my Ethique hair sample and finished my bottle of Aloe Vera juice, I needed a new conditioner. Truth to be said, I was never the type to use conditioner, yet since my skull got itchy after a day, the calming shampoo plus conditioner combination seemed to smooth and relieve the itchiness for more than a day. Essano is a drugstore brand I buy occasionally. I appreciate their commitment to cruelty-free beauty and the use of powerful, quality natural ingredients. They are affordable and easy to find. This Keratin Complex Smoothing Conditioner contains Aloe Vera juice, Shea oil, Jojoba Seed oil packed with Vitamins, C, B, E, A and F, minerals and antioxidants. Paired with a potent Keratin complex, these ingredients lock moisture, bringing elasticity, strength and shine to the hair. Avoiding the skull, I apply a small amount on my hair, particularly on my ends, let it pause for a minute or so as per instructions and thoroughly rinse. After towel drying, my mane looks thick, nourished and healthy—staying that way until the next cleaning. Simple.
Giovanni 2chic® Repairing hot oil hair treatment
Kicking off the warm season in New Zealand—festivals and camping booked. These weekends are pretty rough for the hair, between sun, wind, dust, salt. To make up for this time and face seasonal damage, I like to use a repairing mask now and then. I discovered Giovanni by sharing another hair mask from the Frizz Be Gone range with Trace and purchased at some point a shampoo. I didn't know that Giovanni is a pioneer US brand, since 1979 promoting natural hair care products from salon to the masses, through high-performing formulas. Their ranges are cruelty-free, mostly vegan, sulfate and paraben-free.
This Repairing hot oil hair treatment is a medley of organic ingredients: coconut, high in antioxidant Vitamin E, and Blackberry extract together repair hair mass and split ends. The formula also includes Argan Oil, Coconut Oil and Shea Butter, Macadamia extract and Keratin to nourish scalp and lengths, for an active rejuvenation. On colder months, you need to heat the mask in the microwave, but in Summer, it stays liquid. After brushing my hair, I'll apply all over the lengths, let it pause 20 minutes—never tried overnight; then a good wash. This mask keeps up its promises. Priced at NZ$12, the first mask lasted for months. Expect bouncy texture and shine on the regular.
Castor Oil
After years of mismanagement, I recently focused on caring about my eyebrows, letting them grow to thicken the line. However, they are not that even, with some lighter patches and I can't be bothered to use an eyebrow pencil to fill these blanks. I like uncomplicated yet effective maintenance. The answer might be Castor oil. Deemed for its potent properties on hair, brows and lashes thickening, Reddit is adamant about the power of Castor oil for hair growth. I thought that was the opportunity to give it a try.
Castor oil contains mostly Ricinoleic acid, a fatty acid with astringent and moisturizing properties, helping clean and restore the skin's natural moisture balance. Also, this oil includes Vitamin E, a natural antioxidant which provides nutrition to hair follicles, responsible for the hair growth. Castor oil is by far the best value oil on the market, much cheaper than Argan or Jojoba, and multi-functional, effective on hair, face or body. Moderately dense, a bottle goes a long way, and I got 500 ml! This oil is also a suitable carrier oil, to mix with specific essential oils or more expensive oils to stretch them out. Despite its moisturising properties, recurrent feedback on Castor oil is about dryness and skin peeling over time, probably because of its astringent power, so this is not the best for sensitive skin. In my case, I am pairing this with some Jojoba oil that I had for a long time. Benoit is going to try to thicken his hair as well. Let's see how it goes!
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